Electromagnetic relay



April 28, 1959 J. H. JAlDlNGER 2,834,574

ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAY Filed- Sept. 26. 1955 United States Patent2,884,574v ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAY John Henry Jaidinger, Chicago, 111. Appion S p m er 26, 1 55, Ser a N 53 ,53 2 Claims. (Cl. 317-198) Thi e ionr lat s o elee remegneti rel ys,

A principa o ject f th pres n enti n s to Pr i e a e ec omagne i elay ndeenst u n l s therefor which are retained in operative position at alltimes.

This invention is directed to electromagnetic relays of the type inwhich an armature is pivotally mounted for engagement of an electricalcontact in response to a condition in a control circuit. Prior to thepresent invention, relays for use in portable devices such asphotographic fit fih units were unreliable, because of the fact that thearmat r re e p a simple ule u for the m h ethe than a pivot in h uensewhile a ensio spring was provided to assist seating of the armatureon its ih e utnih same frequently became ace from its position when theflash unit was inadvertently inverted or subjected to the shocks ofnormal handling, and the ela the b rendered p at ve: h d ihn, au e turesi is t p had a cy t es illa s?! de ne gization of the control circuit,which resulted in arcing and consequent pitting of the contacts.Attempts have been made in the past to remedy this condition but withlittle success. In 'prior devices, elaborate spring mechanisms wereemployed to engage the body of the arma" ture and thus assist inmaintenance of its location and to limit its unwanted oscillations.These devices were ineffective when the armature itself was displacedfrom its mounting to any degree.

With the foregoing in mind, another object of the invention is toprovide an electromagnetic relay of the type described in which novelretaining means are provided for maintaining the armature in operatingposition and, at the same time, limit or avoid undesired oscillationsthereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a relay of the typedescribed in which a simple unitary element is used for precludingdisplacement of the armature on its fulcrum.

Other and further objects, advantages and features of the presentinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing in which similar reference characters relate to similar parts,and in which:

Fig. l is an elevational view, partly in section, of an electromagneticrelay made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 1a is an enlarged plan view of a terminal lug used in conjunctionwith the relay;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the relay shown in Fig. 1, with certainelements removed or broken away for clarity;

Fig. 3 is a right hand end elevational view of the relay shown in Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken substantially on the line44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a detail similar to Fig. 4 of an alternative form of thearmature-retaining means.

With reference to the drawing, there is illustrated an electromagneticrelay comprising essentially a U-s ep d fram 1. an a ore 12 ons tu g a cs ru tu e M unted in surteuadin re tion to the co 1. a spool 13 on whichis wound a coil 14 connected in con-. e io l f s i nhe rame 1 in lud s aPair of, BP- stending arms 15 d 16 iein d by a en al y i c a base 17carrying the spool 13. Connected to the arm 15 y e sere 7 i e Page! litat ie eetrieal in e ial- One r mor su st n all re tan ula eve in s 1 arp eided n e pane .8 or eeei tien of t m nals 1 ch ar y elee rie'al eemet 22 Acco din to th in n i a h mature 23 nd e his Coopera n pa ts a earran ed so that isp acem nt of t e aimeture from its o er ti e P s t ni p ent d ven tho h the rela shoul ined ei ent y e in e t d in se erthieet t9 sheet in headline- F r pr clud n disl ment n a latera diree enhe upp r m i eledee t he a m is, r ce sed a @1 5 to f rm a p r of spaeede rs 2 T e a ma u e 2.3 comp s s essent ly bas pla e 8 hich is nar o edas at 32, to define a pai o etehe *36 pre din r ng cl a an e h e pect sthe ea %2 b t Iestrat, ng mo emen a erally- A if rcat d r sil entelement .9 is se u d to t e plate 28 on hi h Co tact ,2 a carr ed oreeeetien wi h eeht et .2- .Hewe r an desired a an em n o ee itests may eti ed:

Arma ure 2. is n rmall tet ihe in the Pes ti sh wn in Fig. 1 by atension spring 38 which has an upper book 9 conn cte in nies 4 h arm tua i a lower hook it conne ted to a h s. 47 fe chin pe t of re a nin l?!l$l19W. 9 he tiesetiheq- Refe in new mo parti u a l o ie 3. n m al 4.ind etes eh i verted Tehe etl elemen 's? in el phos h r breeze er o herres lieht ma er e eemed to e ut r ur ace e1? the e rata Element 4. 'ihes a as pertie enned w h a nah i epresit l p s d, us er l xist outwar lex ndin a und u s' i Dis PQ$PPFWA31W1H 44 sh tt n h er surf c of arm 16is a stem 45 which is provided at its upper end with a struck-out tongue46. The tongue 46 engages the upper surface of the armature 23 in closerelation to the fulcrum formed by the recess 20 and therefore acts tomaintain the armature in operative relation with respect to the relayframe. Since element 42 or at least the stem 45 thereof, is resilient,assembly of the armature or disassembly thereof is easily effected bydisplacing the stem in the clearance opening 43, disconnecting thespring 38 and lifting the armature upwardly.

A modified armature-retaining member 45a (Fig. 5) is somewhat simplifiedin concept wherein the upper end is simply bent over, as at 46a insteadof being a struckout portion, as in Fig. 4.

The terminals 19 are formed particularly to facilitate their assembly onthe dielectric panels 18. Each of these structures 19 is formed ofconducting material and includes (Fig. 1a) an elongated body portion 50and a head 51 which, in the present instance, is substantiallybellshaped, thus forming shoulders 52. The body portion 50 is insertedin the slot 21 in the panel 10 until the shoulder 52 is in abuttingrelation to the inner surface of the panel. The body portion 50 is thentwisted until the outer end thereof assumes a position substantiallyperpendicular to the head 51. An aperture 53 is provided at the free endof the body portion 50 for soldering of leads thereto, and an aperture54 is provided in the head 51 for mounting of the contact 22.

As above described the invention provides means for maintaining thearmature of a relay safely against accidental dislodgement whilepermitting instantaneous dismounting thereof for cleaning of thecontacts or for other purposes. The ground lugs 44 and the tongue 47,being formed integrally with the element 42, contribute materially tothe economy of manufacture of the relay as the .flle armature.

assure same is a single punch press part. Also, the terminal structures19 are quickly and efficiently mounted without the need for washers,grommets and the like. I While I have shown a particular embodiment ofmy invention, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wish to belimited thereto since many modifications may be made and I thereforecontemplate by the appended claims to cover any such modifications asfall Within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

. I claim:

1. In a relay having an electromagnetic coil, an armature pivotallymovable toward and away from the coil, and a fulcrum pivotallysupporting one end of the armature, the improvement comprising a unitarymember extending generallynormal to the armature adjacent the fulcrumand including a rigid base portion disposed beneath the armature, a tabextending outwardly from said base portion, a' pair of arms inclinedupwardly and out- 1 wardly from said base portion and resilient legmeans extending upwardly from said base portion to above the plane ofthe armature, the armature having a hole therethrough accommodatingpassage of said leg means, said leg means including projection meansadjacent the upper end thereof normally overlying the armature to retainthe armature against disassociation from the fulcrum, said leg meansbeing manually deflectable to facilitate instantaneous demounting of thearmature, and an armature biasing spring anchored on the armature and onsaid tab and extending between said arms to' be protected thereby fromdamage and accidental disassociation'from 2. In a relay having aU-shapedframe, an electro- 'magnetic coil mounted on the base of theframe between the legs thereof, an armature'pivotally mounted on theupper edge of one leg of the frame for movement'toward and away from thecoil, and 'an'arm'ature biasing spring extending generally parallel tothe outer surface ofjs'aid one leg of the frame, the armature and saidone leg of the v frame having inter-fitting portions retaining the frameagainst appreciable movement in its own plane, the improvementcomprising an integral sheet metal stamping including a base portionsecured to the outer surface of said one leg of the frame, a tabextending outwardly from said base portion centrally of the armature, apair of parallel arms extending outwardly and upwardly from said baseportion to opposite sides of said tab and a resilient cantilever legextending centrally upward from said base portion along said one leg ofthe frame to above the plane of the armature, the armature having a holetherethrough adjacent the outer surface of said one leg of the frameaccommodating passage of said resilient leg, said resilient leg beingbiased toward said oneleg of the frame and having a projection adjacentits upper end extending toward the inner surface of said one leg andnormally overlying the armatureto retain the fulcrumed end of thearmature against appreciable movement in the direc tion normal to itsplane, the hole through the armature accommodating passage of saidprojection, said resilient leg being manually deflectable away from saidone leg of the frame to facilitate removal of the armature, said armature biasing spring being connected at its opposite ends to thearmature and said tab and extending between said arms to be protectedthereby from damage and accidental displacement from the armature.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS929,844 Erickson Aug. 3, 1909 1,577,031 Kaisling Mar. 16, 1926 1,692,604Whittingham Nov. 20, 1928 1,727,035 Prescott Sept. 3, 1 929 1,806,815Muther May 26,.1931

' 2,064,631. Schmitt --Dec. 15, 1936 2,200,332 Henning May 14, 1940"2,438,745 Fox 'Mjar. 30, 1948 2,471,181 Wilson May 24, 1949 2,585,684Roggenstein Feb. 12, 195.2 2,735,968 Brogue et al. Feb. 21, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS 448,948 Great Britain June is, 1936 820,751 Germany Nov. 12,1951

